SK Telecom is in talks with Apple to put its LTE-A technology already supported by the Samsung Galaxy S4 on the iPhone 5S, according to the Korea Times.

Since last year, Apple has been selling the iPhone 5 that backs up the so-called “multi-carrier telecom technology.” The technology offers the same telecom service by combining two different radio channels into one. But, LTE-A has a feature of LTE carrier aggregation (CA) allowing mobile operators to combine radio channels within and across bands to increase network speeds. While current LTE mobile devices support several LTE radio channels, they can only download on one channel at a time. CA allows simultaneous download on two or more LTE radio channels.

“SK Telecom is approaching Apple to put our LTE-A technology on the upcoming iPhone 5S. We are in the middle of negotiations,” said an SK Telecom executive, requesting anonymity. "There’s no reason for Apple not to use the LTE-A technology."

“Thanks to the Qualcomm technology, Apple can release i-devices globally without the time gap. This is a win-win strategy. With the help of Apple, SK Telecom can take a lead in the race for LTE-A devices and Apple can seek breakthroughs in its stalling phone business,” said the source.

LTE-A would let iPhone owners download up to speeds of 150Mbps, twice as fast as currently available speeds.

The SK Group hopes to have seven LTE-A devices available by the end of the year; however, it's unclear if Apple will be ready to jump on board by the time the iPhone 5S ships.

 [via Simon]